The United States has undergone a dramatic change in its China policy in the last decade. Headlines and analysts warn of an impending new cold war. Both nations downplay that risk despite tensions over trade, Taiwan, human rights, and technology. How does that play out in day-to-day diplomacy?
Nicholas Burns has served as the U.S. ambassador to China since 2022 and will sit down with FP’s Ravi Agrawal in a rare long-form interview. The two will discuss the complicated state of the U.S.-China relationship.
Video clips from this event
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After National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s trip to Beijing last week, Ambassador Nick Burns explains how he views the need for expanding diplomatic channels: “This is a structural challenge and it will remain … intensely competitive well into the next decades.”
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Why has U.S. policy shifted toward China so dramatically over the last few years? Burns digs into China’s increasing aggressiveness in the realms of economy, military, and technology.
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Has the pendulum swung too far toward hawkish China policy? Burns argues that given the “very serious challenge to American interests … we’ve had no recourse but to meet that challenge.”
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Is the United States hypocritical when it expects China to follow the rules-based global order? Burns argues that there is no equivalence between U.S. actions and Chinese actions on the global stage.
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Burns explains why the White House is holding firm on export controls over things like semiconductors: “It’s de-risking on the national security side. It’s not ending U.S.-China trade.”
